


Just Some Thoughts

by 1john514



Category: Christian Bible
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 11:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30088455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1john514/pseuds/1john514
Summary: We humans put so much thought into how we look... all to achieve a certain standard of beauty determined by society's ever-changing tastes. It's almost as if we think our physical appearance determines our value as a person somehow. The funny thing about that is, the whole "appearance equals value" myth was debunked over 2000 years ago!





	Just Some Thoughts

We humans put so much thought into how we look. We wear makeup, go on special diets, spend countless hours at the gym. We dye our hair, pluck our eyebrows, have plastic surgery — all to achieve a certain standard of beauty, determined by society's ever-changing tastes. Studies show that people tend to feel more confident in social settings when they're satisfied with the way they look. And of course, everyone knows we only post our most flattering photos on Instagram!

It's almost as if we think our physical appearance determines our value as a person somehow. The funny thing about that is, the whole appearance = value myth was debunked over two thousand years ago! When God sent his own son, Jesus Christ, to live among people and die for the sins of the world, he didn't put him in the body of some GQ model. In fact, unlike the blond-haired, blue-eyed beach boy the movies and media like to present him as, the Bible says Jesus had _"no form nor comeliness"_ and when people looked at him, there was _"no beauty that we should desire him."_ —Isaiah 53:2 

It is widely believed that God chose this "less-than-handsome" appearance for his son to symbolize our saviour's humble nature — which I'm sure is true, as nobody was more humble than Jesus! I often wonder though, did God have another reason for making Jesus look this way? Could it be God was making a point to the generations to come? 

Was God trying to show us, through Jesus, that a person's appearance matters very little? 

Is God's perception of beauty completely different from the human perception? 

Or perhaps when God looks at us, he doesn't see our physical bodies at all, but only sees our souls. 

If Jesus, the kindest, wisest, most important person to ever live — God himself in human form — wasn't good-looking, why should we care so much about how we look? 

\----------------

People attach so much importance to formal education. Young people are put under crippling amounts of pressure to attend university. We amass thousands upon thousands of dollars of debt in student loans. Our society has been hijacked by credentialism — many employers seem to care more about the string of letters that follow a potential employee's name than they care about their actual, real-world experience. 

It seems those of us who don't judge according to physical appearance, think the value of a human being is determined solely by what university they went to (or how well they did at that university)! 

Of course I'm not discrediting education! Knowledge of the world and how it works is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. But when we leave this world behind someday, when we find ourselves standing before God at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the only knowledge that's going to matter is how well we knew God. 

Did we educate ourselves in life by reading God's Bible? 

Did we live the way Jesus wanted us to live? 

Were we wise enough to keep God's commandments? 

The apostles Peter and John were two of Jesus' most famous followers. After Jesus' death and resurrection, Peter and John helped to carry on Jesus' ministry, preaching his word and healing the sick. Peter and John were fearless, relentless, and selfless. They performed countless miracles in Jesus' name. But did you guys know Peter and John never received any formal education? 

The Bible says that when people _"saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."_ —Acts 4:13 

I'm pretty sure Peter and John never took a course on elocution! They didn't go to seminary — they probably weren't even first-aid certified! But they had been with Jesus. And that was all that mattered. During the three and a half years of Jesus' ministry, our wonderful, merciful saviour taught the apostles everything they needed to know. 

Education is important, especially in this turbulent age of technology. But in life and in death, all that truly matters is this: Do you know Jesus? 

\----------------

We Christians are always putting ourselves down. When we see the great evangelists, the people who are really doing something for God and their fellow people, we say "I could never do that. I wouldn't know what to say." 

"I could never do that. I'm not brave enough." 

"I could never do that. I'm a sinner myself. People would think I'm a hypocrite." 

Well guys, nobody's perfect. We've all heard that overused adage many times. But did you know the Bible is absolutely chock-full of examples of flawed people being used for God's plan? 

The legendary Moses wasn't good with words. He stuttered and had such a hard time with public speaking, his brother Aaron had to speak to the Israelites for him! 

_"O my Lord, I am not eloquent..."_ Moses said to God in Exodus chapter 4. _"I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."_

_"And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the LORD?  
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shall say."_

When Moses continued to protest, God didn't say, "Fine, I'll give the job to someone else"! Instead he offered Moses a way to _work around his flaws_ , and gave him Aaron as an interpreter. And the rest was history! 

Jonah was afraid to go to Ninevah. When God told him to warn the Ninevites about the city's impending doom, Jonah took off in the opposite direction and fled to Tarshish. But God wasn't about to let Jonah give up so easily! (And neither was the whale!) In the depths of the whale's belly, Jonah spoke these words: _"When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD."_ —Jonah 2:7 

There are many verses in the Bible where God's people — many of them great kings, prophets, and apostles — admit that they're afraid to do whatever God has called on them to do. But God always answers with a promise — a promise to protect, a promise to provide, a promise to give strength and endurance and patience, for the Christian to withstand any trial that comes their way. God promises that no matter how difficult a situation may seem, things will always work out for good in the end. 

_"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."_ —Romans 8:28 

Then we have all the major figures in the Bible who were known sinners. Noah got drunk and naked in front of his sons, Jacob lied, David committed adultery, Solomon committed idolatry. Everyone has sinned at some point (probably at many points!) in their lives. What set the heroes of the Bible apart, was that they didn't let sin get in the way of their ministry. Each of them _repented_ from their sins; they _acknowledged_ that what they had done was wrong, they _apologized_ to God, and they _asked_ him to give them strength never to commit those sins again. 

My favourite example of a repentant sinner in the Bible is Saul. In the New Testament, Saul persecuted and killed innumerable innocent Christians, before Jesus Christ came to him in a vision and knocked him physically and metaphorically on his back! In an effort to make amends for his past crimes, Saul would go on to become the apostle Paul, a shining example of Christian love, courage and faith, who is often cited as the greatest apostle of all time. 

\----------------

We all have our own talents and abilities. Some of us can stand on the street corner and preach our hearts out to the world. Others rely on the written word and websites like Fanfiction to get the messages of God across! We all come from different backgrounds, invariably involving sin, as the only sinless person to ever live was Jesus Christ. 

But guys, each and every one of us has been called on to do God's service. The very fact that we've been born again means that God has _drawn_ us, that we have been _ordained_ of God for a special, individual purpose. 

_"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day."_ —John 6:44 

God is Everything. He is the creator of the universe, alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. If we follow his commandments, we can be beautiful in the eyes of God, the only eyes that matter. We don't need a college degree to be wise in the mind of the all-knowing God. And someday, when we get to Heaven, we _will_ be perfect, just like Jesus. 

It kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?


End file.
